The Longmont Fair Campaign Practices Act (LFCPA), revised effective June 5, 2023, was adopted by the Longmont City Council outlining contribution limits and establishing requirements for reporting campaign activity by local municipal candidates, issue committees, and individuals or groups making independent expenditures during elections in order to provide transparency in elections. Longmont does not follow Colorado State Campaign Finance rules nor do our municipal elections use the reporting tool TRACER administered by the Colorado Secretary of State.

2023 CONTRIBUTION LIMITS

City Council candidates may accept contributions to assist them in conducting their campaigns and are limited to the following contribution amounts per election cycle:

• $290 from any person *(Updated 6/29/23 - contribution limits are adjusted each election based on the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood CPI)

All committees are required to report the name and street address for every contribution received over $50.

The forms needed for filing committee, campaign and independent expenditure reports are listed below and may be downloaded from this site.

Forms and reports that have been filed for the current and previous election cycles may be found in the City's Public Records Portal.

COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION & REGISTRATION FORMS

**Forms for declaring candidacy and candidate nomination petition forms can be found on the Candidate Guidelines page**

• Candidate Committee Statement of Organization (must be filed prior to accepting any contributions)
• Registration of Political and Issue Committee

CONTRIBUTION & EXPENDITURE REPORTING FORMS

Under the LFCPA, candidates and committees are required to file periodic reports of contributions and expenditures and these are broken up in to three categories:

• Pre-certification reports - required monthly reports of contributions and expenditures prior to becoming a certified candidate
• Election cycle reports - required periodic reports during the election cycle
• Off-year reports - required twice annual reports of contributions and expenditures for open committees during off-election years
• Independent Expenditure reports - any expenditure expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or of a ballot measure that is not made in cooperation with, in consultation with, in coordination with or with the prior consent of a candidate, candidate's agent, candidate committee, or issue committee.

Pre-Certification Reports

• Candidates and Candidate Committees must file a report on the first day of each month after filing the Candidate Affidavit and continue until they become a certified candidate
• Political Committees for or against a candidate are also required to file reports on the first of each month after forming
• Reports of any Independent Expenditures are due at the next closest reporting period to the expenditure

Pre-Certification Report Forms

• Pre-Certification Report of Contributions and Expenditures
• Report of No Contributions & No Expenditures (pdf) in place of the monthly report linked above (for use only by a candidate who has not formed a committee, has accepted no contributions from any person, and has made no expenditures during a reporting period)
• Candidate Statement of Expenditures (pdf) (for use only by a candidate who has not formed a committee, has accepted no contributions from any person, and who has only expended personal funds on his/her behalf during a reporting period)

Election Cycle Reports

These reports are due at defined intervals in relation to election day and must be filed by Candidate, Political and Issue Committees.

Election Cycle Report Forms

• Contribution & Expenditure Report (xls format). These forms are designed to tally the summary page for you once you enter the information on the appropriate schedule in the appropriate column. The workbook includes a summary page and Schedules A-G as follows:
  • SCHEDULE A -- Itemized Contributions
  • SCHEDULE B -- Expenditures
  • SCHEDULE C -- Candidate Loan Owed by Committee
  • SCHEDULE D -- Financial Institution Loans Owed by Committee
  • SCHEDULE E -- In-kind Contributions
  • SCHEDULE F -- Accrued Expenses Reporting Form
  • SCHEDULE G -- Final Disbursement of Unexpended Campaign Contributions

• Candidate Statement of Expenditures (pdf) (for use only by a candidate who has not formed a committee, has accepted no contributions from any person, and who has only expended personal funds on his/her behalf during a reporting period)

• Report of No Contributions & No Expenditures (pdf) (for use only by a candidate who has not formed a committee, has accepted no contributions from any person, and has made no expenditures during a reporting period)

Independent Expenditure Reports

Independent Expenditures are defined in §2.04.203 as: "...any expenditure made for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, or expressly advocating the passage or defeat of a ballot measure, that is not made with the cooperation or with the prior consent of, or in consultation with, or in coordination with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, candidate's agent, candidate's committee, or issue committee."

Independent Expenditure Report Forms

• Independent Expenditure Form (pdf) (In excess of $250) (Note: if an independent expenditure is made for/against a declared candidate or ballot measure, a report is due at the same intervals as candidate reports are due.  For clarification, see L.M.C. §2.04.206 - Independent expenditure disclosure.)

Off-Year Reports

Off Year reports are due from open committees on May 1 and November 1 of each year.

Off-Year Report Forms

• Off Year Report of Contributions and Expenditures (downloadable Excel format with formulas)

VIOLATION REPORTING FORM:

• LFCPA Violation Reporting Form (pdf)

If you have questions regarding the LFCPA or appropriate forms, please call the City Clerk's Office at (303) 651-8649.